Latest Morning Briefing Stories

In Search Of Age-Friendly Health Care, Finding Room For Improvement

KFF Health News Original

Simple alterations — like better signs, seating, parking or door design — can make it easier for older patients to navigate health care facilities. Here are several changes doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals could make.

Millions Of Diabetes Patients Are Missing Out On Medicare’s Nutrition Help

KFF Health News Original

Health experts say the little-used benefit represents a lost opportunity for older adults to improve their health — and for the program to save money by preventing costly complications from diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Watch: Five Things To Know About Hunger Among America’s Aging

KFF Health News Original

One out of every 13 seniors in America struggles to get enough food to eat while the federal program intended to help hasn’t kept pace with the graying population. KHN Midwest editor/correspondent Laura Ungar explains what you need to know about this largely hidden problem.

Firing Doctor, Christian Hospital Sets Off National Challenge To Aid-In-Dying Laws

KFF Health News Original

In Colorado case, the right to aid a cancer patient’s death runs up against faith-based hospital policies. As more states have passed laws, about 1 in 6 acute care beds nationally is in a hospital that is Catholic-owned or -affiliated.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About Medicare

KFF Health News Original

Before “Medicare for All,” there was just Medicare, the federal program that provides insurance to 60 million Americans. This week, KHN’s Julie Rovner talks to Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation about how Medicare works and whom it serves. Then, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join Rovner to talk about some current Medicare issues being debated in Washington, D.C.

Feds Pave The Way To Expand Home Dialysis — But Patients Hit Roadblocks

KFF Health News Original

What changes are needed to bring home dialysis to more patients — especially older adults, the fastest-growing group of patients with serious, irreversible kidney disease? We asked nephrologists, patient advocates and dialysis company officials for their thoughts.

Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Let Medicare Patients Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage

KFF Health News Original

Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.

The Talk Seniors Need To Have With Doctors Before Surgery

KFF Health News Original

Surgeons are rethinking the old notions of “informed consent.” With older patients especially, a push is on to talk candidly about what a surgery will do, its risks and how it will affect their quality of life.

Genetic-Testing Scam Targets Seniors And Rips Off Medicare

KFF Health News Original

Capitalizing on the growing popularity of genetic testing — and fears of terminal illness — scammers are persuading seniors to hand over cheek swabs with their DNA, not knowing it may lead to identity theft and Medicare fraud.

Creator Of Brain Exam That Trump Aced Demands New Training For Testers

KFF Health News Original

Geriatricians are outraged over a new requirement to pay for training in order to administer the MoCA test, a widely used tool to screen for cognitive problems. The test’s creator said he was worried about accuracy and liability.

¿Quieres retirarte y vivir en el exterior? Medicare no viaja muy bien

KFF Health News Original

De 2012 a 2017, el número de trabajadores jubilados que vivían en países extranjeros y que recibían beneficios del Seguro Social creció casi un 15%, a más de 413,000, según la Administración del Seguro Social.

Dream Of Retiring Abroad? The Reality: Medicare Doesn’t Travel Well

KFF Health News Original

More than 400,000 U.S. workers have retired in foreign countries and their ranks are rising. But Medicare doesn’t cover most expenses overseas, so these expats will need to confront the cost of finding alternative insurance.